The Labors of Love
by claudiad13
Summary: Sirius Black is entering his fifth year at Hogwarts and is looking to find some arm candy for the new year, but little does he know that he's about to meet Laila Ackers, who turns out to be a whole lot more.
1. Wronski Feint

Chapter 1 ~ Wronski Feint

_Laila Landers heard the loud bang of her front door being broken in followed by a cackle emitted by her father. _

"_They're here!" exclaimed Doyle, Laila's wicked father. _

"_Good! This will be fun!" screeched the painfully high-pitched voice of Ana, Laila's equally terrible mother. _

_Laila crawled beneath her bed, frightened by the sounds of her parents preparing to duel the coming forces. Undoubtedly the ministry must have somehow found their current location, the location of the most wanted witch and wizard at present. Laila heard the soft footsteps of the ministry wizards closing in on her parents in the room right next to her. The small girl's fear and anxiety heightened as she knew the duel was fast approaching. She heard whispers in the hall, then suddenly an eruption of spells coming from many mouths at the same time._

_Horrified, Laila curled into a ball beneath the tiny, rickety bed and hoped they would get her parents and then rescue her from this horrible life of abuse and pain. There was much indistinguishable crashing and yelling so Laila couldn't tell what exactly was happening, but she was okay with that. Warm tears of fear began to flow from her golden eyes when the wall next to the bed abruptly exploded. Laila was now in the midst of the duel. She scrambled across the room into a corner as she dodged the spells flying just above her silvery curls. She shut her eyes tight and covered her head tightly with her arms. _

_She heard a man yell "There's the child! Newbury, get her to safety!" Then, only a split second after the words were spoken, she felt her body being lifted off the floor and relief swept through her. The man holding her began to run from the house holding her tight to his chest and when she felt the cease of motion she opened her eyes and looking over the man's shoulder saw that the house was in flames and there was a lot of flashing lights. She nuzzled her face back against the man as they began to walk; then, unexpectedly she heard a deafening boom, was torn from the man's grip and felt her fragile body land on the hard ground as a horrific, sharp pain shot through her face. She screamed as she tasted blood in her mouth and felt it run down her raggedy clothes. The last thing she saw was her parents disapparating from the scene. _

Laila Ackers awoke in a puddle of sweat on her large, four-poster bed with her hand grasping at the scar that ran from the tip of her nose down to the left side of her jaw bone. She sighed and allowed her body to relax. The nightmares came more often and far stronger in the summer. Laila figured it was because she was so lonely and had no distractions from her haunted past. Not to mention that seeing Owen and Angharad nearly every day reminded her of the events that placed her into their care.

She was very grateful that they took her in after she got away from the disaster and her awful parents over eight years ago. They even let her take their name so that she wouldn't need to be forever associated with the evil and dark wizards. They were very generous and gave her nearly everything that she could ever want or need; however, she still felt certain emptiness with the Ackers family. They were both very high-up and important in the ministry; Owen was with the Department of Mysteries and Angharad was some sort of judge. Because of their important status they were often working. Also, their biological children were much older than Laila and had all moved out. Therefore, she was alone most of the summer, except for the last two weeks when she went to stay with her best friend from Hogwarts, Addison Dalton.

Laila remembered that today was the day she would meet Addison in Diagon Alley to get their school supplies and then travel to the Dalton's where they would stay until their return to Hogwarts. Laila rolled out of her lilac covers and walked to the bathroom to begin her morning routine. She jumped into the shower allowing the steamy water to run down her curves and through her waist length hair, which could best be described as the color of silver moonbeams. She emerged from the shower and applied a very minimal amount of make-up and hair product since she really wasn't one to fuss over her appearance. Lastly she threw on some jeans and a lavender tee and let the packing quickly commence since she had but two hours to be ready and in London.

Sirius Black groggily arose to the sunny morning. He rolled over and jumped out of bed. He'd been anticipating this day because he was going to meet his friends in Diagon Alley, buy his supplies and then go to stay with his best friend James Potter for the rest of summer holiday. He let out a deep sigh of relief; he couldn't wait to get out of this house. His family was on his last nerve; his parents weren't very pleasant people. They seemed to have this idea that only pureblood wizards should learn magic, so being in Slytherin with the other purebloods was essential. Sirius was in Gryffindor, thus his parents and the rest of his family saw him as a disgrace and a traitor and they treated him as such, hence he would be glad to be leaving.

"Good morning mother," Sirius said in a very respectful tone after he had made his way down to the kitchen.

"Well, look who finally got his lazy arse out of bed!" she shrieked at him.

"Sorry mother," he said as he reached for one of the crumpets on the table that the family's house elf, Kreacher, surely prepared.

"You're leaving today, right?" his mother asked hopefully.

"Yes," he replied, "I was hoping that I could use some floo powder to get there."

"Well, of course you would want that when we're almost out! You're such an ungrateful disappointment of a child," she said angrily, "But I suppose if it gets you out of my sight for an extra few weeks…" she trailed off.

"Thank you very much mother," he said quietly as he stood to exit the room, "I won't be soiling the House of Black much longer," he mumbled as he left the room.

Laila arrived at the Leaky Cauldron about fifteen minutes late, as usual. She scanned the occupants for Addison; there was a creepy looking bald man at the bar, a group of kids about her age talking excitedly around a table, and a handsome boy walking across the room brushing ashes from his clothes. She finally found her friend in the back corner of the pub. Laila ran to her and lifted her petite figure off the floor in an excited embrace. The friends then stepped back and took a look at one another before conversing.

"Have you grown taller?" Addison asked with a giggle.

"Only an inch, Addie!" Laila replied, "But maybe you've shrunk!"

"Oh shut up!" Addison said with a smile, "I'm short, it's old news!" she added giving Laila a little smack on the arm. "Let's get your stuff into our room," she said grabbing a cage containing an owl with feathers the same deep brown color as Addison's locks. They carried her trunk and owl up the stairs and into a dingy little room and placed them on the floor. They then went back down to the main pub and out the back proceeding into Diagon Alley.

The sight still took Laila's breath away every time; the crowds of people who were of all shapes and sizes, the shops, the smell of food and potions and broom polish, all of it was exhilarating. The girls proceeded to Flourish and Blotts to get their books, then made their way around to obtain potions ingredients, cauldrons, and new robes.

Sirius arrived at the Leaky Cauldron in a rush of flames and ash. He stepped from the fire place with a cough. He looked around the room and noticed several good looking girls, he made a mental note to hit on a few before the day was out, he could use a girlfriend for the new semester. He walked across the room towards the entrance to the Alley as he brushed the ashes from his clothes, being sure to flip his hair in case any of the girls were looking.

As he entered Diagon Alley he took a moment to take it all in. He still felt taken aback every time he saw it. The sights, the sounds, the delicious scents, all excited him whenever he stepped foot on the cobbled street. He walked into the broom shop where he had agreed to meet his mates and sure enough James was there looking at the newest model of broom and going on about Quidditch. Remus and Peter were there as well, listening politely to James's babbling.

"Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed slapping him on the back, "Stop torturing the poor lads with your obsessive Quidditch banter!" he said with a bark like laugh.

"Hey! Not everyone is as disinterested in Quidditch as you are!" James protested.

"Well, it does begin to wear on one's nerves when one hears it nearly 24/7," Sirius said letting out another laugh. He looked at his friends and felt that he was back where he truly belonged. "Oh! It's good to see you mates!" Sirius said embracing each friend in turn.

"Should we get our supplies?" Remus asked after the reunion was over, he was always down to business.

"Sure," replied Sirius and the four friends left the broom shop. They made their way through Flourish and Blotts, Madame Malkin's, Portage's Cauldron Shop, and Slug and Jiggers Apothecary to purchase their books, potions materials, robes, and all the other knick-knacks they needed.

"Why don't we head to Florean's for some ice cream?" asked James, "All this shopping has worn me out!"

"Sounds good," Remus agreed as Peter nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I'll meet you there in a few minutes," Sirius said staring into the distance, "I'm going to see if I can catch us a few girls," he explained.

"Alright Padfoot!" James said with an excited smile, "We could use some ladies! Be sure to find some good ones!"

"Yeah," Sirius said vaguely. He was focusing on an exotic looking pair of girls. One was rather tall with an extremely pale complexion, waist length pale silvery curls, and a large scar running across her cheek and jaw line. The other girl was very petite with caramel skin, straight, dark chestnut hair and a huge enchanting smile. He began to walk towards the girls, who were carrying loads of supplies like himself, as he decided on a brilliant plan to get their attention.

"Is that all we need?" Addison asked, "Seems like less this year, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Laila agreed, "want to stop and grab an ice cream?" she asked struggling with her load of supplies which was quite large regardless.

"Of course!" Addison replied. Despite her tiny and slim frame she could eat like one of the boys.

"Why even ask?" Laila said, but suddenly she felt her body collide with another and she crashed to the earth while all her new things fell around her. "I'm so sorry!" she said quickly, "I'm such a klutz," she added as she felt a hand reach to help her up, she took it and found herself face to face with a beautiful boy. He had scraggly, long black hair that was brushed across his deep green eyes. Laila felt her knees weaken and she lost her balance, but she was caught by the strikingly handsome boy. She continued to stare at him for several moments until he cracked a smile a let out a little laugh. Laila realized she'd been staring and her pasty face flushed fiercely. She dropped to the ground to pick up the items that had scattered around them.

"Oh no! I feel so terrible," Laila said feeling extremely embarrassed now. She picked up the things that belonged to the boy and handed them to him. "I hope I haven't damaged anything and if I have then I'll replace it. I can't believe this!" she babbled.

"It's fine," the boy said, "No worries, it was my fault too!" he added, smirking, as he picked up her belongings.

"Thanks," she said shyly as she reached for the pile.

"Hey, do you want some help with this?" he asked, "Where were you headed?"

"We were just going to grab an ice cream, but I'm fine, I can take it," she said, still terribly embarrassed.

"No, I insist," he said, beginning to walk down the street, "Besides, I was actually heading there to meet some friends anyway."

"Thanks," Laila said quietly as she and Addison began to walk with him.

"I'm Sirius," the boy offered, "What's your name?"

"Laila," she replied, "and this is Addison," she added gesturing towards the small brunette.

"I see you're a Hogwarts student," Sirius concluded from her supplies in his arms, "I'm about to start my fifth year. How about you girls?"

"We're about to start fourth," Addison interjected as they arrived at the ice cream parlor.

"Cool," Sirius said with a crooked grin, "My friends are just over there," he added nodding towards a table filled by several boys, "you should join us."

"Um, well, I don't want to intrude," Laila said looking at her toes.

"Actually, that would be great!" Addison said quickly, checking out the seated boys.

"Great!" Sirius said with a genuine smile and they walked towards the table. "Hey guys! I just bumped into these lovely ladies and thought I'd bring them along. This is Laila and Addison," he said as set their supplies down and pulled up chairs for the three of them.

"I'm James," said a skinny, but handsome boy with unruly dark hair and bright blue eyes.

"Remus," said another boy as he shook their hands. He had a mop of golden brown hair and pale blue eyes. He was not as handsome as James or Sirius, but he had an undeniable gentlemanly charm.

"The name is Peter," offered the last boy. He was honestly quite homely and had a very mousey look with his big teeth and pointy nose.

"It's very nice to meet you all," said Addison batting her long, dark eyelashes at the boys, particularly at James.

"Same here," said James, quickly picking up on the hint, "You know, you have absolutely delectable caramel skin and it really makes your stunning hazel eyes pop," he added flirtatiously moving closer to Addison.

"Ugh! Really mate?" Sirius asked, "I thought you had better moves than that! Maybe you need to stick to wing man!"

"Hey, say what you like, but I believe I've had more girlfriends than you!" James retorted. Addison giggled and continued to eye James.

"Well, that depends on your definition of girlfriend," Remus added, "I'm not sure broom cupboard make out friends count, especially if you don't know her name." They all laughed as James struggled to find a rebuttal, and failed. James just accepted defeat and laughed along.

"Well, I think that's enough on me," James said with another hearty laugh, "I'd like to hear about you girls."

"Well," Addison said, jumping quickly on the opportunity to talk about herself, "We're both in Ravenclaw, going into our fourth year. I've been a chaser on the Quidditch team for a few years and I'm quite good if I do say so myself."

"Wow," James said, "I happen to be an amazing seeker for Gryffindor, I've almost got the Wronski Feint down perfectly!"

"That's so impressive!" Addison exclaimed. As the two Quidditch enthusiasts dove excitedly into their conversation Laila looked towards Sirius only to catch him looking at her with a curious look on his face.

"Oh!" exclaimed Sirius as he realized that he had been caught, "So, Addison plays Quidditch, do you? Or are you interested in something else?"

"I'm not much of a Quidditch player," Laila replied, "I'm not really a competitive person. I do however enjoy flying just for the fun and relaxation, but I'm really more of a bookworm."

"That's cool," Sirius replied with a smirk on his face, "I really wish I could buckle down more with my school work," he said with a slightly shameful look, "I'm really not looking forward to OWLS this year," he added nervously.

"Well, if you'd like I'd help you with some of the less advanced stuff," Laila offered, "I mean if you don't have someone better to help you out," Laila added with an uncharacteristic frown.

"No," Sirius said with a grin, "That'd be great."

"Alright," Laila said cheerfully, "Why don't we grab some ice cream?" she asked having just realized they hadn't yet gotten some.

"Yeah, of course," Sirius said getting to his feet, then walking over to offer Laila a hand. Everyone else chose to follow suit. When they all were seated again they began to talk about school, professors, and different classes. They had talked for an hour and a half when Laila realized how late it was.

"Well, I hate to leave, but it's getting dark and Addie and I should get to our room for the night," Laila said regretfully nudging Addison's arm.

"Yeah," we should get going too," Sirius agreed, "I can't wait to see you at school though, promise I'll see you at the feast?" he added with a crooked and slightly suggestive grin.

"Sure," Laila said with a smile and wave. Addison was flirtatiously waving at James so Laila had to give her a tug to get her to grab her belongings and turn around. The girls walked away giddily, smiling and laughing all the way back to their room.


	2. All the Broken Hearts

Chapter 2 ~ All the Broken Hearts

"Oh my god!" Addison exclaimed as she flopped on her bed back in the Leaky Cauldron, "How cute was James?"

"Quite," Laila agreed.

"And they're older too!" Addison said as though that was a major plus, "This could just make my year!"

"Good," Laila said feeling happy, but worried for her friend, "You could use a good guy after the Cody fiasco last year."

"Don't remind me!" Addison said sticking out her tongue and making gagging noises.

"Just remember babe, you fall really hard and really fast," Laila said in a motherly voice, "I just don't want you to hope for something to happen and then be let down."

"I know," Addison said frowning, "But did you see how attractive he was? He had that sexy unkempt, but not dirty look and I bet he has a good body too since he's so into Quidditch!"

"Yup," Laila agreed. She knew it was pointless to argue her point; Addison was in dream land.

"That guy with the black hair seemed to like you though," Addison said elbowing Laila and raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, did he?" Laila asked trying to act oblivious, but blushing slightly.

"Yeah, he did," Addison said examining her friend's pink face, "And you totally know it and you totally are interested!"

"Maybe," she replied, "But it's not like it's a big deal or anything. There's no harm in seeing if there's potential."

"Come on Lai!" Addison said giving her blonde counterpart a shove, "You know that there's at least potential! He told you that he looked forward to seeing you and that you needed to see him first thing!"

"He did not say it like that," Laila said blushing quite brightly now.

"We have to find them on the train," Addison said. Laila could see her best friend planning and fantasizing in her head.

"Addie!" Laila said loudly to get her attention, "We need to be cool, if we search them out they'll think that we're desperate and needy."

"Well," Addison said, an unraveling scheme was coming, "We could just 'get there late' and 'accidentally' stumble across them and say how glad we are that we finally found a compartment with enough room for us!"

"Sure Addie," Laila said shaking her head, "We'll see. But for now let's get to bed; your parents will be here early in the morning to get us."

"Okay," Addison agreed, "Goodnight! This isn't over," she added as she lay down and turned out the lights.

"Goodnight," Laila said with a smile.

Sirius and James arrived at the Potter's through the floo network. The boys greeted the family but went straight up to James's bedroom claiming to be very tired.

"Wow!" James said giving Sirius a pat on the back, "Nice catch! Those girls are gorgeous!"

"Yeah," Sirius said vaguely.

"What's up mate?" James asked looking concerned.

"Nothing," Sirius said lying on his back and staring at the ceiling, "I'm just trying to figure what it is about Laila that makes her so, so…" he struggled for the word.

"Beautiful? Amazing?" James offered, "Sexy?"

"No," Sirius said, "Attractive. Intriguing. And more than just her looks. I barely know her and yet I felt an immediate pull to her." He sighed.

"Oh no man!" James exclaimed, "Don't go all mushy on me. We never get lovey over girls. I mean girls are great and all, but we're not the type to be in permanent couples."

"You mean we haven't been the type?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow, "Are you telling me that if you fell for a girl that you wouldn't go for the relationship?"

"Well...I don't know," James said guiltily, "I guess all I can say is good luck; I just hope she feels this same magical pull towards you."

"Yeah, me too," Sirius said.

"Well, what do you say we try to find them on the train?" James suggested.

"Sounds good," Sirius said feeling a sense of calm, hope and happiness that he wasn't accustomed to.

"So how are we going to 'welcome' Snively to school this year?" James asked with a mischievous laugh.

"I'm not really in the mood to think about it," Sirius said still staring at the bumping ceiling of James's room.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" James asked, "This isn't like you."

"Yeah, I know," Sirius said, "I just haven't felt this way before. Can we just go to sleep?"

"Sure," James said sounding slightly confused, "Goodnight then."

"Goodnight," Sirius replied. He then drifted off into a dream about the fair and interesting girl he'd met earlier that day.

When Laila awoke the next morning she rolled on her side and looked over towards Addison's bed. Addison was already awake, dressed, and reading one of the new text books; despite her flirtatious and sometimes promiscuous habits Addison was still a nerd in disguise.

"Good morning babe," Laila said groggily. Addison looked up from her book and smiled.

"It's about time," she giggled, "I've been up for nearly an hour! And my dad will be here in half an hour!"

"Sorry," Laila said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Come on, get dressed!" Addison nagged!

"Alright, I'm going!" Laila replied. She got out of the inn bed and threw on a pair of jeans and sea green tee-shirt. Then she began to try and find room in her trunk for the new books and supplies, which was quite the trick. By the time Laila had finished repacking and listening to Addison go on about the boys again Mr. Dalton had arrived. The three of them went downstairs and got into the Dalton's car and were off to their home about a thirty minute drive away.

When they arrived they were greeted by the sweet sound and aroma of cooking sausage, eggs, and French toast. They walked into the house, dropped their trunks at the door and entered the kitchen. Addison's mother was wearing an apron and standing at the stove cooking and Carter, Addison's sixteen-year-old brother, was tucking in at the table.

"So, how was Diagon Alley yesterday?" Carter asked.

"Good," Laila replied, "We got all our supplies and had some ice cream."

"Oh come on Laila!" Addison shouted, "We had more than just ice cream, we feasted our eyes on some scrumptious Gryffindor boys!"

"Really?" Carter asked with a laugh. He was very friendly and cool with all Addison's friends unlike many older siblings.

"Yeah," Addison said as a dreamy look came across her face, "They were fifth years and totally gorgeous and hilarious."

"Really, then I probably know them. What are their names?" Carter asked.

"Well, I fancy a boy called James and Laila's man goes by Sirius," Addison said sighing.

"He is not my man!" Laila protested.

"Yeah…" Carter said vaguely, "I'd steer clear of them if I were you girls."

"Why?" Addison asked sounding very disappointed.

"They're known as swingers," Carter said tentatively, "They're fun guys, but kind of heart-breakers."

"Well, then, would they be good for a bit of a fun time then?"Addison asked, it seemed as though she didn't particularly care about the freshly given information.

"Yeah, I guess so," Carter replied, "But I don't want to think of my little sister like that." Addison let out a laugh as Laila got lost in her thoughts. She didn't know exactly what to think though. She was infuriated with herself, because she had totally fallen for Sirius's fake charm. He'd probably used that on all the girls he'd used. She then wondered exactly how many girls that was! She couldn't believe that he'd fake that absolutely infatuated look he had on his face when she caught him staring. It was incredible that a guy could be that good to fool a brilliant girl like her and that he could be enough of an ass to use that power.

"Lai! Lai!" Addison shouted trying to get her friend's attention. When she snapped out of it Addison asked, "What's the matter? You're scowling fiercely!"

"I'm just trying to figure out how I fell for his crap!" Laila huffed and crossed her arms, "It's just ridiculous! And why would a guy be like that!"

"Did you ever think that maybe you're the first girl he's ever really liked?" Addison suggested.

"Don't be silly, Addie," Laila said angrily, "You always have your head in the clouds, but I'm not going to let myself get hurt by someone like him."

"Maybe that's your problem," Addison said as Laila looked very confused, "You're always trying to protect yourself and never let yourself have fun and take a chance!"

"Because it's not worth the heartache!" Laila retorted.

"Maybe Addie's right," Carter chimed in, "Maybe you should take a chance, just keep yourself prepared for the potential outcome."

"No," Laila stated with a strong certainty in her voice, "Absolutely not. If you want to go for James, I'll support you, but there's no chance that I'm going for Sirius!"

"Fine," Addison said, "It's your choice, I guess you won't want to find them on the train then."

"No."

Sirius awoke from a dream where he'd been kissing that beautiful and pale girl on her soft rosy lips. He opened his eyes and saw his best mate across the room still sleeping. Sirius chose to savor this temporary silence and take some more time with his own thoughts. He sighed as he thought of Laila and how unlikely it was that she would feel the same about him. He hoped more than anything that she was attracted to him, but he felt like he'd deserve it if she broke his heart after all the hearts that he'd broken. Just last year alone he was with more girls than he could count. He let out another deep sigh as he heard James waking up.

"Morning," James said in his scratchy morning voice.

"Good morning," Sirius returned in an apathetic voice.

"Still on about her then?" James sighed and shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked defensively.

"It's just that I've never seen you this way before," James looked honestly concerned.

"Well, like I said I've never felt this way before," he huffed, annoyed by his mate's obsession with his own new obsession.

"Well, it'll only be a two weeks till you can see her again," James offered.

"Yeah, that can't come too soon," Sirius stared into space thinking of her again.

"Can we talk about Snively now then?" James asked hopefully.

"Sure," Sirius said, simply humoring his friend, "Tell me what you've got."

"Okay, so I was thinking that we take these fireworks that I have and modify them to spell out insults at him when we set them off," James stated proudly, clearly happy with his brainstorming.

"Brilliant," Sirius said, "Now how are we going to do that?"

"Well, magic," James laughed at his own pun.

"Alright then," Sirius laughed along, "Let's grab some breakfast and then come back to this brainstorming?"

"Sounds like a plan!" James agreed as his stomach rumbled loudly, "I'm starving!"


End file.
